Forest Guardian
by cometotheberkside
Summary: A gift? Or a curse? Hiccup finds out he's been chosen as a Forest Guardian, a group of Vikings who protected lifeforms from harm. But being a guardian isn't as it seems. Before long, he is thrown into a conspiracy that aged long before his time...and one that will change the fates of everyone forever. [HTTYD2 spoilers, amendable character death.] More details in my profile.
1. Prologue

**A/N: ****[WARNINGS: HTTYD2 SPOILERS, AMENDABLE CHARACTER DEATH.]****[****DISCLAIMER: HTTYD (c) Dreamworks Animation] This is my first multi-chaptered fanfic. Hopefully I'll be able to continue this. Wish me luck and enjoy!**

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My mother once told me that dragons were the guardians of the forest.

They protected all lifeforms. They sheltered lost travellers and fed orphaned creatures of their own kind. They ate fish, but not before acknowledging it with a slight nod with its head. And when they felt the need to, they burned down entire forests to create new life.

They are the connection to nature. They leap from tree to tree, playing. Dance in between individual raindrops, singing. Bathe in the pale moonlight, sleeping.

And when you needed someone the most, they'll always be there. Because they have the instinct and the heart to do so.

Some say the tears of dragons have healing properties. Do I believe this? Yes, I do.

Because eight years ago, they healed my broken family.

And they continue to do so now.

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**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Flight Procedures

**A/N: ****17-06-14 First round of edits!**

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**HICCUP**

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Hiccup laughed as the wind took over.

The sweltering sun beat down on him, causing him to perspire greatly, especially on his forehead, where beads of sweat leaked down every few minutes, and he had to wipe them off to prevent distraction. He was not used to the high temperatures caused by humidity; no one was, but he especially had not been able to adjust to the switch, being the one with the most clothes on.

But besides the abnormal temperatures, everything else was flawless. The breeze was constant today, barely any variance, and the sky was a cerulean blue. A perfect day for flying, or so he liked to say.

He wasn't wearing his helmet today. It was too warm for his liking, and besides, he loved the way the wind combed his auburn hair. He loved the way the salty sea spray misted his skin, the adrenaline rush he got whenever he performed a nosedive, the whoosh of powerful, beating wings on either side of his lanky body.

Flying was always an enjoyable pastime. As the son of Stoick the Vast, the chieftain of the Isle of Berk, he had many responsibilities to account for and take care of. As the adolescent grew older and into a young man, he noticed that as the years went on, his father became more persuasive in his arguments, ranting about the idea of him taking over the esteemed position of chief.

The problem (ultimately, there was always a catch) was that Stoick had been born knowing what to do, and who he was. He had been moulded into a perfect Viking- boisterous, strong, ambitious- since he was a wee lad. And he had grew up with all those motives and regulations stuck in his head.

But Hiccup knew he was different, the complete polar opposite of his father. His muscles lacked in strength. He preferred to be alone and in suitable, quiet areas, where his thoughts could roam freely. And he was no more ambitious than Tuffnut wanting to study the Dragon Book.

To him, taking leadership just wasn't suited for him. Yes, you could argue that he was the one who convinced and taught the gang how to ride dragons. But the idea had come from Astrid pestering him and pushing his inner mind to work harder. And yes, you could point out the drastic change of the Viking way of living after the Red Death had been eradicated by his own hands. You could come up will all these, and still Hiccup wouldn't be satisfied. There was just something that didn't feel right, like a missing puzzle piece, or a cogwheel that didn't click.

All through his entire life Hiccup had known this. He stuck out like a sore thumb. And yet, despite all this, he still vaguely remembered how hard he tried to fit in. It was a nearly impossible task for his twelve year old self.

At that time, he was placed under the care of Gobber the Belch, Berk's blacksmith. Gobber had taken care of him while Stoick was away, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the dragon nest. The blacksmith had been a father to him, often taking him off to fish and letting the boy run free in the vicinity. By that age, Hiccup had matured quite a bit, and had thoroughly vanquished his old hobby of searching for trolls.

He'd started slow. In the hot smithy, the only cold draft of wind was when he stuck his head out of the window. Gobber had helped him learn the proper tools and methods, and by the time he was fourteen he could do many things by himself. Quite often his lack of strength proved to be a nuisance, but he could manage sharpening a few dull swords and muster enough to do most of the work.

The prosthetic tailfin that Toothless was using right now was of his creation, and his most proudest work yet, apart from his latest invention, a fire sword. The tailfin was attached to his own artificial foot, and he could change positions to adjust the angle that they were speeding at.

Hiccup had once made an automatic tailfin for the Night Fury. It was Snoggletog back then, when everyone was bustling throughout the hearty village, buying and bartering for presents that they would put into their recipients' helmets. That specific year, the dragons had all flown away, except for his own, as his incapability had kept him rooted to the island. However, when Hiccup had given his best friend the autotail, he'd refused it, smashing it vainly against the snowbanks and rocks. That was the day that Hiccup had realized just how much they suited each other.

Admittedly, there was a secret that Hiccup had not yet told Toothless, and that was that he had created a compact autotail in the smithy on his spare time. Who knew, perhaps he would need it one day in the future.

Hiccup felt the winds change suddenly, and his momentum shift gears. He sat upright, clenching at the reins. "You ready, bud?" he shouted over the gale. His dragon nodded, and Hiccup clambered onto the Night Fury's back. Headfirst, he dropped from the sky, the wind whistling past his ears. His fall was a bit shaky; he'd have to tweak his procedure. Perhaps he'd have to lean over the side for a more gradual descent. He made a mental note, then whooped excitedly. On the ground, his legs -or leg, for the matter- felt like lead: heavy and confined to the earth. In the sky, however, he was lightweight.

The sound of his dragon spinning like a whirling dervish beside him had him caught in a smile. He squeezed open his eyes, grinning like an idiot.

"Hey Toothless," he called out to his dragon, lolling his tongue out from the side of his mouth, attempting to imitate his best friend. The Night Fury blinked, unimpressed with Hiccup's antics. "Aw, come on, bud! I tried my best!" he kidded. "Show me that smile of yours."

Toothless complied reluctantly, letting loose a mouthful of gums that shot out vicious teeth.

"There's the smile I know." Hiccup bared his teeth as well. Toothless snorted, then swept his human friend up in its wings, rotating and drilling through fluffy clouds. The moment he let go, Hiccup extended his artificial wings, catching the air.

"It works!" Hiccup shouted triumphantly, buoyed up in the air. The airstream was peppering at his exposed face, and he experienced a twinge of regret for not bringing his helmet.

His flight suit embraced the wind as it drove him over the treetops. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and he experienced a sense of giddiness. However, he was losing buoyancy fast, and he sighed as he realized he'd have to do more than just tweak his procedure: he may have to fix it all. Hopefully his father would let him stay up late today.

Toothless dove under him and caught him just in time. Hiccup quickly thrust his prosthetic back into the hold, and they swerved to the right, narrowly missing a spruce tree. The velocity that they were zooming at was too fast to come to a perfect landing, the momentum of their flight causing difficulties in slowing down. They landed on the forest floor, bodies rolling once in the undergrowth.

"That was lucky," Hiccup panted, climbing off . Toothless shook off pine needles from his sleek black coat. Hiccup touched a few scrapes on his hands gingerly, and pried off his sweaty garments plastered to his back. "I really need to fix some things. And you need to improve your solo gliding," he gestured with a nod towards Toothless.

Toothless flopped his head down in between his paws, the dragon equivalent to a shrug. Hiccup laughed, shaking his mop of hair. "Get up, for Thor's sake." Toothless moaned dramatically, then pretended to struggle to get up, even making a whole show of his "weak knees".

"Toothless!" Hiccup whined querulously, nudging his friend in an effort to move him. Toothless didn't budge, wearing a self-satisfied expression.

"Fine." Hiccup flung his arms up in surrender. "If you're not coming, then I'll just leave you here." He sauntered towards the opening of the forest, checking back on his dragon surreptitiously from the corner of his eye.

He caught a jerk of movement, a blur from his peripheral vision. He smirked as Toothless silently made his way to him, a pouting look on his face.

Hiccup wrapped an arm around his friend. "We'll go flying again tomorrow, bud. Don't you worry."

Toothless purred in response, and the pair set off back home, a boy with pine needles stuck in his hair, and a dragon who didn't bother at all to tell him.

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**Thanks for reading and have a great day! Comments, reviews and con-crit are appreciated! All updates to the story are notified through my profile.**


	3. To be a Leader

**A/N: 20-07-14: Second Round Edits!**

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Berk loomed in front of them, a welcoming sight for both dragon and Viking.

It was a small village, but nonetheless a cozy one, full with mostly friendly people. Hiccup, back when he was fifteen, had complained about his island, calling it miserable and soggy. However he'd since changed his mind; the warmth of the people's hearts and the comfort of dragons on the island made Berk the perfect place to live and spend his days at.

Of course Hiccup dreadfully wished that he had time to explore the world outside Berk, and into the countless islands living in the whole archipelago. Three days (the length of time Stoick allowed for him) did not satisfy his need, and he was often moody when his quota had been filled and he had to go back. Lately he'd caught onto cartography, and spent most of his afternoons mapping any surrounding islands to the best of his ability.

The tinkling sounds of marketplace talk entertained Hiccup as he weaved through and around the village. Not many wares were sold in Berk; most of the items and memorabilia were shipped by Trader Johann, and he wasn't expected to make a trip to Berk until next week. Any food rations such as fish were kept in the storehouse, to prepare for winter season. The marketplace was for other objects. There were some trinkets and knick-knacks being sold in the stalls, as well as hand-me-downs and small children's toys that the shop manager's kids had probably worn out.

A shop owner called out to him. "Oi, Hiccup, would you like to taste some bread I made?"

Toothless sniffed the bread on the table, and twitched his face in disgust; he didn't like bread much. Hiccup pretended not to be annoyed and bit back a frown. He forced on a smile, facing the bread-maker. "Not today please, Braudin, I've got to head back home. It's getting late. Besides, I think my father already has one of your loaves, it's delicious." He hoped his voice did not sound too cheery. Cheeriness was not one of his usual character traits.

"Oh. Well, you better next time!" he replied, putting back the loaf of bread. Hiccup gave the shop owner a nod of acknowledgement, and continued his journey through the multiple stalls.

They reached the Haddock household just in time for supper. Toothless, having his fill of fish, left the house early, frolicking not far away. As Hiccup finished his dinner and prepared to leave, a heavy hand caught his arm, and he struggled in the crushing grip.

"Dad! Not again," he complained through gritted teeth. Arm today, huh. Usually it was his shoulder. He didn't know which one he preferred, more like he didn't want it at all.

"We need to have a talk," Stoick said, dragging his son behind him, Hiccup's boot scuffing the floor.

"I can't talk if you're cutting off my blood circulation!" Hiccup exclaimed, his forearm throbbing numbly. "Besides," he added thoughtfully, "can't we talk tomorrow? I've got plans for the evening." He was half lying, and he hoped his face didn't show an ounce of it.

"Son," Stoick sighed, seating himself down, "has anyone ever told you how bad a liar you are?"

"Uhh…" His face flushed scarlet. "Once? Twice? Maybe three times?" Hiccup diverted the subject fluidly. "Look, Dad, why are you asking such questions? Wasting all your precious time? Wouldn't you rather, say, I don't know, go to sleep? I'm sure you've been having a rough day today-"

"I know what you're doing, Hiccup." Stoick interrupted with a booming voice.

"What?" he laughed nervously. "I'm not doing anything."

Stoick wagged a finger at him. "Of course you are. You're purposely avoiding the discussion and _getting me off topic._"

He was getting more perceptive. And his arm was getting more sore by the minute,

"Listen to me, son. You're all grown up now, in your twenties, and I think it's time for you to learn the ways of chiefing. And why do you have pine needles stuck in your hair?"

"Huh?" Hiccup brushed his hand over his hair and plucked out a few needles, placing them on the table. " I didn't know those were there," he chuckled lightheartedly.

"Do you understand me, Hiccup?" he thundered, voice bordering on impatience.

Hiccup groaned inwardly, not wanting to have the discussion. "Before you continue, I have a favour to ask of you. Can you _let go of my arm now?_"

"Oh. Sorry." His father released his arm, and Hiccup slowly felt the blood returning to him. He kneaded the sore arm until it was back to normal, rolling his shoulder in circles.

"Now," Stoick rested his head on his knotted hands, "it's been a long time since we last had a talk. I'm getting old, Hiccup, and soon you will have to take my position as chief." He sighed, and in that moment Hiccup noticed the wrinkles on his father's forehead, the unevenness in his skin tone, the bags under his weary eyes. Details he did not pay much attention until then.

In reality, it had only been two days since they had conversed, but Hiccup decided he wouldn't point it out.

An awkward silence situated itself between father and son, stretching to what felt like minutes.

"So, uh Dad," he said half-heartedly, trying to maintain conversation, still avoiding the touchy topic of 'chief ways'. "How's Skullcrusher?"

Stoick perked up at the name. "Oh, he's wonderful, Hiccup. You shoulda seen him in action! He tracks down the twins in a minute flat!"

"Well, the Rumblehorn is in the Tracker Class, Dad. So is the Nadder."

Stoick waved his hand dismissively. "A Nadder's hardly the dragon for me," he harrumphed. "Always preening themselves extensively. Who's going to see them, anyways?"

"Maybe the males?"

Stoick ignored his comeback. "They only have two legs as well. How do they even lift their upper body weight? Oh, and the spines too-"

"So who's getting off topic now," Hiccup muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Uh, nothing," he said hurriedly. "I said, um, it's getting late now. I should get Toothless and go to bed. Yeah." Hopefully he sounded genuine.

"Oh. Okay then. Alright. You go get your dragon and get some rest. Tomorrow's a busy day."

"Yeah Dad." Hiccup turned to leave. "Oh hey. Do you know where Astrid went?"

Stoick stood up, stretching his back. "She's gone with Stormfly on an excursion. Training for the upcoming Dragon Race. Well, I'm off to bed too. But don't you think you've gotten off the hook. We'll continue our little talk tomorrow." His broad back headed towards his room of residence. "I'll see you in the morning, then."

"G'night." Hiccup greeted, then when was certain he was no longer in view or within earshot, he took off, his long legs bounded out the door, almost tripping over himself in his rush.

"Toothless," he called out. It was getting dark, and his best friend was annoyingly nowhere to be seen. It was usually a good thing when Toothless' camouflage made them nearly invisible. However, tonight was not a very good time to show off this talent, especially when the moon wasn't out to shine its glory onto the sleepy citizens.

He stumbled in the night, both arms in front of him to prevent accidents. He knew he was walking slowly, taking small steps, but it could potentially be the core reason that he did not get hurt. "Ouch," he murmured as he stubbed his toe on a rock. So much for not getting hurt. The rock seemed to intimidate him as he moved forward. Toothless shouldn't be far away, though. He squinted in the pitch blackness, seeing nothing but the silhouettes of houses.

His hands came in contact with a burly figure, and he gave off a cry, his vocal cords misbehaving and causing his voice to squeak at the top.

A laugh echoed in the night, surrounding his pale face as his heart thrummed against his ribcage. Then a sticky tongue ran itself over his cheeks, and he had to push the dragon's head off to escape the attack.

"Toothless!" he complained. "You almost scared me to death!" He knew if the Night Fury could talk he would be sniggering with amusement. "Can you give me some light?"

A plume of blue plasma blossomed in the inky black and the shadows seem to shrink away. "That's better."

As the sudden burst of light receded, Hiccup noticed that Toothless was now sniffing at the air, shaking his head irritably. "What's wrong, bud?" Hiccup asked, concerned.

The sky had become even more overcast, if that was a phenomenon that could happen, with dark shadows cast on the grass and trees. A peal of thunder echoed in the distance."It's going to rain," Hiccup realized._ And Astrid isn't back yet._

He immediately abandoned his earlier plans of fixing his flight procedure. That could wait.

Droplets dripped down from the sky and showered the boy and his dragon in wet rain. Toothless shook himself off, the water sprinkling on Hiccup lightly. "Hey!" Hiccup laughed through the _pitter patter_ of the rain. He flicked water off towards the dragon with a dramatic flair of his fingers. Toothless gave him a look of annoyance, then slunk back into the safety of a house beside them, hiding underneath the mottled shadows and the dripping awning of the roof.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hiccup chastised. Toothless smirked with heavy sarcasm, then came to Hiccup's side. Hiccup checked his flight suit and Toothless' prosthetic, making sure everything was in mint condition. Then with a shot of air they were gone, the flattened grass the only sign of them being there at all.

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**Thank you for reading! Comments, reviews and any con-crit are appreciated! See you at the next chapter!**


	4. Where's Astrid?

**A/N I'm updating fairly quickly right now :) Here's the third chapter! I haven't decided on a name yet so if anyone has one, please PM me! Thanks and hope you enjoy!**

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By the time they had reached the middle of the forest, they were drenched, sopping wet faces staring out in the gloom.

The constant rainfall drowned out Hiccup's worried call.

"Astrid?"

The silence of the forest had him agitated. _Where could she be? She couldn't have gone far._

He'd predicted that Astrid had come to the forest, after all, that was where she had been practicing the last few times Dragon Races was approaching. Hiccup smiled as the warm memory painted itself in his mind, with colours as soft as a watercolour palette…

_The wind blazed through him, ruffling his hair as he shot in the sky at breakneck speeds. Toothless cooed, blasting a bolt of plasma fire into the open. Hiccup lifted his head in pleasure._

_And then he was tumbling down towards the earth._

_Toothless emitted a sound of horror as he gyrated out of his control. Hiccup forced his eyes open and realized the problem: Toothless' tailfin had been punctured. But how?_

_The culprit was, as Hiccup had never suspected, a tree. A tree branch, to be exact, had ripped through the smooth material and had left a parting gift: gaping pockmarks of all shapes and sizes._

_If Hiccup could slap his forehead at the moment, he would have. They had been flying through a section of the densely populated forest barely a minute ago, and for some stupid reason Hiccup had insisted on staying low, keeping towards the ground where the art of accidental ripping was at its finest. He should have known not to fly in the middle of sharp branches and limbs; usually his common sense would tell him to run through instead. But he ignored it, thinking of his own pleasures and not of the possible dangers and ramifications he would have to deal with later. _

_Hiccup reached desperately for the reins. There was a jarring sound that spliced through his ears, whistling. Seconds later, he landed on something hard, and his body went limp._

_A finger prodded at his backside and he winced. "Ow!" he cried out, hugging his waist with his arms. Then his sense came back to him. "Wait, who are you?"_

_He felt himself being lifted upright. He opened his eyes slightly and stared into an ocean of blue. A punch landed on his shoulder._

"_You should be more careful next time, numbskull," Astrid teased scornfully, head craned his way. "Good thing me and Stormfly caught you, otherwise I sincerely don't know where you'd be." Stormfly chattered proudly at the mention. _

"_A-Astrid? What are you doing here? Where's Toothless?"_

_When she didn't respond, Hiccup followed her gaze, and was shocked to see Toothless _gliding, _albeit a little shakily, with the mismatched surface area of his tailfins disrupting a perfect descent. Wings spread out, they caught the air like sails on a ship."He's learned," Hiccup whispered softly. Or maybe he had always been able to glide from the air by himself, and it was just that Hiccup had never given him a chance. Perhaps he could let Toothless try solo gliding sometime._

"_Practicing," she continued nonchalantly, turning her view back front, her voice jolting Hiccup back to reality. "For the Dragon Races tomorrow. You're not coming, are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes into slits. Hiccup shook his head briefly, a touch of guilt embedding itself into his rambling thoughts._

"_Thought so. Busy as always, aren't you?" She had adopted a threatening tone, and Hiccup gulped. "I'm sorry Astrid. I really am."_

"_Of course you are." She sighed. Hiccup sighed with her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She tensed up and bristled, but relaxed shortly after. "I'll come the next time, okay?" Hiccup said nervously._

"_Promise?" Her voice lightened up with hope._

_Hiccup smiled, grateful that there were no repercussions. "Promise. If I don't, then may Thor send down a mighty Skrill and zap my leg off."_

_She laughed lightheartedly, a chingle in the air. "Your leg is already missing, though."_

"_True. Never thought about that," he joked._

_"Well, he'll just have to cut off your other leg, then."_

_"Astrid!" he admonished. He spoke with a heavy accent. "Thor, that was my only good leg!"_

_They laughed together, the corners of his mouth becoming sore for smiling this long. He couldn't help himself._

_Stormfly executed a swift landing, and Hiccup dismounted, running towards Toothless. He turned his head while running, having forgotten something important._

"_Thank you!" he shouted in the direction of Astrid and her Nadder. Her gradually shrinking figure waved at him. Hiccup smiled at her sight, then turned around to greet Toothless, to check if he was alright, and to apologize._

The past had been warm and fuzzy. The present, however, consisted of him and his dragon lost in a hopeless situation, soaking wet to the bone. Hiccup decided he would venture deeper into the forest, just to make sure no one was there. Then he'd have to search somewhere else.

Toothless sunk down low, towards the shadows on the carpeted forest floor, creeping forward with apprehensive steps. Hiccup squinted his eyes in the nearly opaque darkness that curtained his vision. Now he wished that he'd brought his fire sword, Inferno. However, the sword hadn't been through testing yet, so if it malfunctioned suddenly, it would not bring desirable consequences.

Hiccup felt wrong in the head. Of course a fire sword wouldn't help, it was pouring rain! The rain was also affecting their ability to fly, as it was difficult trying to launch into flight against all the violent raindrops striking vehemently on the wings. Uselessness overcame him, and he resisted the urge to scream in confusion and frustration.

There was a boom of thunder that shook the trees. Then a crack of lightning illuminated the ominous night.

Toothless suddenly halted, pupils dilating. A scritching noise echoed ahead. The Night Fury snarled, placing himself in front of his companion protectively. Hiccup pushed his snout gently and reversed the order, coming forth and standing before his friend. He strained to see what was making the noise and…

A figure was walking towards them, the crinkle of leaves under its feet. Hiccup corrected himself instantly, as there were two silhouettes emerging from the unseen.

Astrid. And her dragon trailing not far behind.

"Hiccup?" she asked timidly, her stance suggesting that she wasn't believing her eyes.

"Astrid. Where have you been?!" He didn't mean to launch all his anger built up inside him, he was just worried, relieved, and happy all at once. Relief swelled in his heart, and he ran towards her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Where were you all this time?" he questioned, holding her close, his voice muffled as he buried his head in the fur on her coat. "I was worried sick!"

"I'm...I'm sorry. I was practicing, and then I somehow got lost…And Stormfly had trouble with coming back. I think she caught a cold," she added.

"It's okay. You're alright, and that's all that I care." She was shivering with cold, Hiccup realized suddenly. He pulled away.

"Come on. Astrid, you'll be staying at my house today. You don't want your relatives fussing over your tardiness."

Astrid nodded. "I suppose I wouldn't. Thank you for your offer."

"No problem." He mounted his dragon and Astrid mounted hers. Together, they leapt off into the night and back to the Haddock household, bolts of lightning painting their backsides with blue fire.

They slept together tonight, on this stormy night, with hands interlocked. Their tired minds lulled asleep by the twinkling stars that appeared in the obsidian sky after the rain had lessened, having already made its mark on the world.

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**Thanks for reading, and as always con-crit, reviews and comments are welcome!**


	5. A Hiccup in Plans

**Things get moving in this chapter :) Hello, readers! Just here to say a thank you to all of you! You are great!**

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Hiccup woke up with the sun filtering through his eyelids, and commotion outside his house.

He yawned, rubbing his tired eyes with his knuckles. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he adjusted his prosthetic and changed into a pair of clean clothes. A hand touched him then, and he held back a shout.

He'd completely forgotten about her.

Astrid mumbled something incomprehensible, then turned the other direction, her mess of blonde hair further tangled. She wore a soft smile while she slept, and Hiccup swore she looked...younger. More vibrant, with vigor and an overall lightness to it.

He shook his head, emerging his mind out of...whatever he was doing. Admiring? He laughed silently to himself, then converted his attention back to his dressing. Carefully, he pried on shirt by shirt, layering the items of clothing without waking her up. She could get quite cantankerous when her sleep was being deprived.

Hiccup remembered one morning, as he was working in the forge, that Astrid had stormed into the workspace in a fury, questioning why he was always working and never had any time to spend with her. He'd replied that he was busy with his new sword. Armed with an easy lighting method and portability, Inferno was his latest pride, having had all the blueprints, designs and welding finished in less than a fortnight. But Astrid wasn't impressed; of course she had woken up with a bad mood, and that attitude spread throughout the whole village, its contagious behavior striking the most innocent of people. One being Hiccup himself, who had to endure an entire argument with his father, without following his urge to backtalk.

He dragged himself off the bed then, and went out the door, closing it with a whisper's silence behind him. He had many items on his checklist today, and it would be beneficial to him if he finished everything before sunset. Hiccup knew that Stoick had some leadership lessons planned for him, but that wasn't until the late afternoon; he could work until then.

He had barely even made it outside when his keen eyes spotted a crowd coalescing before the Great Hall. Now, today wasn't some sort of holiday. It certainly seemed like it though, all those people crammed together into a tight space. And the noise that they emitted was unbearable. Hiccup decided to take a stand.

He walked over to a nearby Viking and exchanged a friendly greeting. "Do you know what's going on?"

The Viking shrugged. "I just saw a huge crowd, so I join'd in."

As he was chatting with the man, his ears caught all sorts of snippets from the gossip and rumours flying around.

"...poor man, he had lost so much…"

"...awful, what could have happened…"

"...I heard his wife had disappeared too…"

At that moment, Stoick charged out of the building, most likely woken up by the cacophony outside. "What's wrong?" he asked Hiccup impatiently, similarly affected by the ruckus.

"I don't know," he answered.

Stoick sighed as he took the matter to his own hands. He squeezed past the Berkians and out in front, asking the villagers the origin of their cause. The commotion dropped a few decibels. Hiccup strained to hear what was happening.

Stoick pushed his way out of the sweaty group, a grave expression writ on his face. Without a word, he returned to his home. A confused Hiccup followed in his father's steps.

"So…" he wrung his hands, "what happened out there?"

Stoick looked up. "Someone died," he said gruffly, applying an ice block to his forehead.

"Wait, who?" Hiccup didn't expect this type of news.

"A fellow called Bjarte Brandrson. He was found dead before his very house."

"Brandrson… hey, wasn't that the guy who was good at swordfighting?"

"Yes, it was. We need more Vikings with an aptitude for swordfighting." Stoick shuddered. "I don't think we need anymore bread-making ones."

Hiccup would have laughed at Stoick's failed attempt at a joke, but the joke didn't brighten his mood, and there were more serious business to talk about.

"I guess," Stoick continued, "we'll have to cancel our little trip around the village. I have important matters to deal with, like the planning of a Viking funeral. You can go off and do your own thing." His chair squeaked as his weight left it, and he exited, leaving Hiccup alone.

"Alright," Hiccup said to the empty room, secretly pleased that he could continue on his work. Yet, while he was still saddened by a fellow Viking's passing, he couldn't help but be curious of Bjarte's cause of death. What had occurred to deliver his ghastly fate?

Hiccup wandered to the Great Hall. The crowd had since dispersed, getting along with their busy lives, but a few remained, talking amongst themselves in hushed voices. Hiccup decided to join in. No one noticed, or they didn't really care.

"He showed promise, that lad," an elder said sadly. "He was only 46. Old he may seem, but he had talent."

"His wife too, that poor mite. Disappeared without a word. As I say, here one day, gone the next."

"Did you see those claw marks though? They were as large as a dragons'!"

_Dragons?_ Hiccup thought. _Nonsense, _he chided himself, _dragons wouldn't do this. They don't even mean harm!_

_Unless…_

Hiccup almost burst out laughing. His often absurd thoughts humored himself greatly. The Red Death had been vanquished five years ago. And besides, how could a mighty beast like her go by unnoticed? It was just too crazy of an idea to even consider.

Perhaps it was another dragon? A wild one, maybe? Bjarte was a frequent swordfighter, wasn't he? So there may be some spare swords left lying around, and Hiccup knew for a fact that Smothering Smokebreaths loved shiny metal objects. It was a possibility, he supposed, though it wasn't the best explanation.

He needed someone who knew about dragons. Someone who could provide reliable knowledge on the topic at hand. Someone who wouldn't mind spending some time with him if dragons were involved.

It was a good thing Hiccup knew someone that just fit the profile.

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**Thank you for reading my fic! Comments, reviews and con-crit are always welcome and brighten my day 3**


	6. In Preparation

**A/N I'm sorry for the delay, I had exams to worry about, but they're almost done! Here's Chapter 5; hopefully I can update faster now, but I wouldn't guarantee. Also, yes this is in Fishlegs' POV, because the world does not revolve around you, Hiccup.**

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**FISHLEGS**

There was a distant sound of footsteps heading in towards his house.

At first, Fishlegs had thought that it was his loving dragon Meatlug. The Gronkle was the boy's best friend, and acted like a motherly figure to him, if he had to say for himself, since Fishlegs' own mother was not present in Berk these days, having gone off to who knows where with a bunch of other Vikings on a three-month long expedition.

As much as Fishlegs didn't like to admit it, he actually loved his mother a lot more than you would have thought. She was bossy and stern at times, but then again, aren't all mothers like that from time to time? They just want the best for you, even if it meant being less lenient. In all her strictest rules and insane regulations Fishlegs found genuine worry and love, and that kept him from complaining about it too much.

He wondered what it felt like to not have a mother. It would be devastating, certainly.

Perhaps that was what Hiccup felt like.

Hiccup had lost his mother during a dragon raid, when a dragon had taken her away and promptly killed her. No bodies were found, so it was presumed she was dead. Of course, this happening had sparked some controversy, and even the chief himself was in denial for a fortnight, shutting himself into his desolate room. He had asked Brynja Hofferson to take care of his son during the time he spent locked up, preparing for yet another funeral. Brynja had complied, even though she still had her own daughter at home.

He couldn't help but feel sorry for Hiccup, and a slight twinge of guilt at how he and the gang had teased him before.

Fishlegs allowed his conscious to drift back to the Dragon Book in front of him, taking his distracted mind off from any disturbing thoughts. The book itself was an antique, passed down from generation to generation. It was written by Bork, the founder of this island that he and his fellow Berkians called home. It was filled to the brim with information of dragons and the like, and Fishlegs had been given the honor to continue it, filling in missing information and documenting any new dragons they had discovered from the Academy's numerous expeditions.

There was a sharp rap from the desk. "Hey, um Fishlegs, mind if I have a talk with you?"

Fishlegs glanced up from the Dragon Book, ripping his glued eyes from the page. "Oh hey Hiccup. What brings you here?" Out of all days, and yet here he was: the Chief's son, prompting for a nice chat with him. Did he do anything wrong?

Hiccup took a seat, scooting forward on the rickety chair. The scratching noise of the chair sliding against the floor made Fishlegs wince. "So you haven't heard."

"Heard about what? I've been a tad busy lately, Hiccup, studying the Dragon Book for preparation." Fishlegs flipped the page over, careful not to crease the paper. Whatever conversation Hiccup was going to start, Fishlegs did not want to hear a word of it.

"Let me guess." Hiccup scratched his chin thoughtfully, looking over and casting an annoying shadow over the already blurry text."Dragon races?"

"How did you know?"

"Just a guess." Hiccup leaned over the table. Fishlegs shrunk back, intimidated by the intense look that was radiating off his friend's face. "A Viking was killed today," he whispered.

"What?!" Fishlegs almost jumped out of his chair in alarm. He twiddled his thumbs nervously as he recovered. "H-how?" he asked timidly.

"That's where you come in. I need you to come with me to the scene before they take the body away."

Fishlegs chuckled, queasy. "I don't know about this, Hiccup. I promised Meatlug I'll take her to the beach today…"

"Fishlegs, please? You're the only one I can count on now, being the one with the most dragon knowledge."

"Wait a moment." Fishlegs wagged an accusative finger in front of Hiccup's pleading face. "What does this have to do anything about my dragon expertise? Trust me, Hiccup, I'm not one for solving mysteries, and certainly would not want to get involved, thank you very much."

"Ah, yes," Hiccup replied. Fishlegs envied how fast he could move on to the next sentence; Hiccup didn't even skip a beat. "I heard there were some...claw marks on the Viking's stomach."

"Markings?"

"Yes. Dragon markings, to be specific. So, will you come with me then?"

"Well…" He considered it. "I'll go. But only if the whole gang comes with me," he added quickly.

"Alright, it's settled, then. Meet me at the front of the Great Hall at noon, then." Hiccup tossed Fishlegs a wink, then promptly made his way out.

Fishlegs sighed and leaned backwards, crossing his arms behind his back.

What kind of mess had he gotten himself into this time?

* * *

Noon came by faster than he'd expected. Before long, he found himself stationed before the Hall, standing awkwardly by himself in the heat waves. He wiped sweat off his brow and patted Meatlug affectionately. The bumps on her skin tickled his fingertips as he stroked.

*Don't worry, girl. They'll be here soon." Fishlegs sighed. Still no sign of Hiccup, and he was supposed to be the one leading the expedition!

He spotted something descending from the sky then. The rhythmic flap of wings resounded in his ears as the dragon came down. And then came the bickering.

"It's going to be a Scauldron."

"No it's not. Are you daft? Scauldrons live in water, dummy."

"Can't it come out?" Tuffnut countered.

"Personally I think it's the Flightmare. It even has a scary name."

"You're the one not thinking now! The Flightmare doesn't come to Berk anymore. Have you even seen it kill?"

"Do you have proof?" Ruffnut quipped.

The twins' dragon, Barf and Belch, exchanged looks of annoyance as they landed hard onto the dusty ground, succeeding to jolt the twins out of their heated argument.

"Hey Fishlegs, who's right?" Tuffnut asked.

Fishlegs didn't want to be stuck in between.

"Yeah, Fishlegs. Who's right? Probably be me." Ruffnut chuckled, then faced her twin with a stern expression. "Bet you two cups of yakbutter parfait that he's gonna say me."

"Well then, I'll bet… I'll bet you Snotlout if I win," Tuffnut finished proudly.

"Ugh. I hate him."

"What did you say?" Snotlout came around the corner on his Monstrous Nightmare. He stared into Tuffnut's eyes.

"Oh…nothing really," Tuffnut assured him.

"He's lying. We were talking about your puny size," she said with a straight face.

Fishlegs tried to get everyone back on topic."Um excuse me, hate to break it to you, but-"

"Hey, what's going on?" Astrid's Nadder came to a halt, leaving dust spores puffing up in clouds. Fishlegs' throat became irritated, and he coughed, waving off the plume of dust to the side. Astrid herself leapt off, brushing her bangs back as they shielded her view.

"Just the usual," Fishlegs replied once he could speak properly, in the same tone he used every day when the twins were up to their normal jests.

"As I expected," Astrid said sarcastically, with a swing in her lilt. "Hey, where's Hiccup?"

"Probably in the forge." During these past few years, Fishlegs had observed a change in Astrid. No longer in war with dragons, she had adopted a less violent attitude, and had learnt to be much more lighthearted. She'd become more sarcastic as well, a trait probably influenced by Hiccup. He positively _dripped_ sarcasm wherever he walked, with those exaggerative hand gestures whenever he opened his mouth to talk.

Tuffnut stopped arguing with Snotlout. "Yeah, where's Hic? He's late."

A shadow blocked the sun's rays just then. Fishlegs looked up to see the dark hide of a dragon, and a certain boy riding on said dragon.

Astrid cupped her hands onto her face. "You're late, Hiccup!"

As Hiccup came closer, Fishlegs saw the smile that he wore. "Sorry, m'lady! Busy at my house, fixing procedures and all that technical stuff. I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear whatever's going on in my head."

"Your mind's too confusing, and way too hard to grasp," Astrid chuckled. "Now come down; we need you to sort things out before we leave."

"Alright." The Night Fury descended with flaps of its wings. Hiccup took out his journal and laid it split open on a rock. The gang coalesced together to see it.

As Hiccup was turning the pages to a blank one, Fishlegs caught a glimpse of hurried writing and numbers scrawled on the edge of the page. Amazingly Snotlout, with his short attention span and lack of detail-finding skills, also saw them. "Hey Hiccup," he teased, "since when have you been keeping a diary?"

Tuffnut chortled at Snotlout's snide comment. Ruffnut shot her twin a glance of annoyance.

"Um," Hiccup replied, scratching his ear while still flipping the book's pages, "since last month."

Hiccup's reply had Snotlout stunned, and put an end to Tuffnut's blatant laughing.

"Ahh, here's one." Hiccup placed the pencil between his teeth as he took out his whittling knife. With three sharp strokes, the pencil was as good as new. The black lines inscribed themselves into the coarse paper. Fishlegs leaned in for a better look.

A house appeared with an X stamped on. "Bjarte's house," he whispered.

"Yep, that's where he lives. I had a lively discussion with the Chief to get that bit of information." Hiccup stuck out his tongue while he worked. "It's strange how he lives on the outskirts of Berk, though. Besides his name and occupation, we don't know anything about him, even though word spreads fast in the island."

Broken lines were then laid out, one by one, as a sort of path. Landmarks were placed in between. The pencil wavered, then stopped, pointing at an area. "And there's where we are right now. In front of the Great Hall." Hiccup drew a circle, plotting the point clearly.

"Any questions?" Hiccup asked, putting back his pencil.

"Nope," several people claimed in unison. "Should be easy enough," Astrid remarked, heading towards her dragon.

"We leave now, then." Hiccup also returned by his friend's side. "Oh, and Fishlegs, be sure to bring your dragon knowledge with you. We need it."

He didn't even have to ask. Fishlegs gave him a brief nod.

"Let's go, Meatlug." Meatlug flitted her wings, and they were off, facing the scalding sun.

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**Thanks for keeping up with the story! More to come, and as always con-crit, reviews, comments and such are always appreciated. **


	7. Examination (title to change)

**A/N Thanks for your patience, readers! This is my longest chapter yet, I'm proud to say :)**

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**SNOTLOUT**

His luscious hair flew with the wind as he rode his dragon majestically. He was in the lead, and he enjoyed that immensely; he was like the alpha of the pack!

The gale howled in his ears irritably. A snippet of Hiccup's voice bore through his ear canal.

"Hey Snotlout! Do you see it?"

He pretended he did not hear him.

Snotlout's relationship with Hiccup had been off and on. He thought he was a pesky nuisance, always gaining pride points from others, while he himself was the one who deserved it. It was only because Hiccup had defeated the Red Death that he got praises thrown at him. He also had a Night Fury, a rare breed of dragon. Such things weren't taken lightly around here.

Snotlout, at one point in his teenage life, was angry at him, partially because of Hiccup's boorish behaviour (he'd exiled him once, even), and also because Astrid was taken away from him. Though now that he thought about it, it was no matter. Stupid Astrid, with her bossy voice and sly ways. Besides, he'd caught the eye of another fine young lady.

Although, even despite all this dislike, he still respected Hiccup, and there were times when he wondered what the chief's son had went through, especially in his adolescence. Snotlout admitted that he had been rather harsh on him; he wasn't the only one though, as the rest of the gang had done the same. It had just seemed to them that Hiccup was useless and couldn't do anything right. The pressure from his father must've pushed the boy out of his usual boundaries and made him seem weak. Snotlout could relate to this. His own father, Spitelout, had been on his heels the moment he could walk, wanting his son to be the perfect Viking.

However, by the time he, Astrid and Hiccup were seventeen, there was a drastic change in them, specifically Hiccup, who had caught on with his growth spurt. Puberty had been less kind to him, making him the shortest of the bunch, and the ideal target for the twin's mockery.

"Snotlout?" Hiccup yelled. "Do you see anything out of the ordinary? Or perhaps Bjarte's house?"

Snotlout shook his head in distaste. He led Hookfang in a gut-wrenching twist, off to his right. Trees, streams and rocks, nothing else that really stood out, or was of any interest to him."There's nothing here, Hiccup. Stop yelling." He changed his mind then. "Never mind, keep on yelling, until your throat gets sore." Hiccup really needed a lesson on patience.

"Alright," Hiccup replied sarcastically. "Tell us when you see something; remember, you're the one out front."

Snotlout nodded, pushing a stray loop of hair behind his ear. The steady rumble underneath him soothed his mind. He breathed in deeply and focused his entirety into searching for a rooftop or a hut looming in from between trees.

"You sure this Bjarte guy lives out here?" he asked, his suspicion disguised into a curious question.

He looked back towards the lanky boy riding on his equally sleek dragon. The auburn shrugged, armor and leather creaking out of place. "Most likely, yes. I'll have to trust the chief on this, don't you think?"

Snotlout almost groaned, but he kept it to himself. It felt like hours had passed since they had departed from the safe confines of Berk's centre. Not that it wasn't safe out here; it was always safe when Snotlout was here, but he felt a little queasy at the thought of seeing a dead body. "How did the townspeople even know that he was killed when you said he lived far away from the center of Berk?"

"Oh, that," was all Hiccup said, when a sudden gust of wind displaced the teen down towards the trees. His head reappeared minutes later, unruled and frizzled. "Sorry, mild calibration issues. Do you know of the expedition?"

"Nope," Ruffnut said, her dragon zipping in front of Astrid's Nadder to get closer to Hiccup. "Nuh-uh," her twin shook his head eagerly, his dreads slapping his face. "You never tell us anything. So tell us now." He leaned forward, as if expecting good news.

Hiccup sighed. "None of you know about it?"

Astrid placed one hand on her hip. "Of course not. It was deemed confidential. You probably know of it, because you're the chief's son."

"Oh. Yeah." His voice seemed apologetic, and his stance suggested it as well.

"Just hurry up and say it, okay?" Snotlout's carefully managed patience was wearing out, slowly but surely, like his father's pair of boots that were worn each and every day, despite Snotlout's complaints of the boot's obvious thinning out.

"Alright. Just remember, you are still on lookout." Hiccup cleared his throat. "There's been reports of these spherical metal traps located on the border islands of Berk. They've been given the nickname of the 'Snaptrappers'. You know, after the dragon."

"Traps? Like dragon traps?" Fishlegs questioned uneasily. He scratched Meatlug's head.

"Perhaps, we don't know for sure. Anyways, a group of Vikings were sent out in patches to investigate. One unit had wandered off to the outer limits of Berk and probably found Bjarte there, and brought the word back. This specific expedition is most likely the one your parents are on," Hiccup pointed to Astrid, "and where your mother is as well," he commented to Fishlegs.

Tuffnut looked at Hiccup wearily. "That wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be." Barf and Belch careened back to their previous location, and both twins were irked, faces crestfallen.

"I never said anything about exciting, did I?" Hiccup's mouth creased at his own action of snuffing out the twins' daredevil imagination. "Although I can promise that when we get to our destination, they'll be plenty of excitement for you two to savour off of."

"Alright!" Tuffnut yelled ecstatically, punching his fist into the air. He exchanged a helmet-bump with his twin, quickly readjusting his helmet back on properly after.

There was suddenly a jerk as Hookfang spiraled downwards sharply, carrying a surprised Snotlout along with him. "What's wrong?" he yelled, clenching onto the horns with an iron grip, afraid to be flung off. The wind was blowing straight into his face and around his ears, and the sound was deafening to his mind.

He could hear Hiccup chuckling in the distance, and held back the urge to complain. "Looks like he's found our destination. Riders, prepare to land. We've reached the Brandrson household."

Hookfang straightened then, and the world's pieces fell back into place. Snotlout shook his head dizzily. "Where am I?" he slurred incomprehensibly, rubbing his eyes in the sun that suddenly decided to glower directly onto his face.

He landed softly, and his hands slowly loosened from Hookfang's horns. He was panting for breath, relieving his throat constriction he'd received earlier. "Well, looks like we're here," Astrid said, swinging herself off.

"Sure looks like an old house," Fishlegs said, observing the hut before them.

"It'll be fun to blow up, wouldn't it, Ruffnut?" Tuffnut asked, a sly plan already forming in his head by now.

"No no, none of that." Hiccup approached the house apprehensively, the rest of the gang following suit. "Spread out in the house. See if you can find anything out of place. I'll be upstairs, if you ever need me."

Snotlout climbed off the Monstrous Nightmare, overcome with post-Hookfang-acrobatics vertigo. He wiped his nose and went in the shabby hut. There were a few spiderwebs, which he brushed off upon his arrival, but besides those, the interior of the house was spiffy clean, not a speck of dust to be seen.

"He must have been obsessed with well-being," Fishlegs whispered behind him.

"He's a swordfighter. I bet there's something wrong. And you can stop whispering now." Snotlout walked up to a window casually. A stream greeted his view, as well as a few wildflowers and-

"What's wrong?" Fishlegs questioned, walking up to his friend cautiously.

"That is definitely not normal." Snotlout hurried upstairs, finding Hiccup admiring the sword drawings on the desk. He grabbed his arm and snatched the drawing from his hand. "Down. Now."

"Something up?" Hiccup asked nonchalantly. Then his expression shifted, and he sort of stumbled on his feet, embarrassment creeping up his face. "Oh yes. Got carried away for a second." He followed Snotlout down the squeaky steps and towards the open window. "I see you've found it." A clap on the shoulder was delivered, and Snotlout rubbed at it, even though it didn't hurt. "Great work. Now let's go," he motioned to the rest of the group. "You too, Fishlegs," he admonished to the large fellow leaning against the wall cowardly. "We need your knowledge."

They were out into the sunlight once more, Snotlout in the lead. He ran past the window and over the stream, the water tickling his boots and soaking them. The splash of water from him running got into his eyes, and he blinked them out with a degree of impatience. "There," he huffed, pointing at a rough silhouette while still catching his breath.

From a close proximity you could see the shape of a helmet on its side, its twin horns laying on the ground sadly. "Cool," Tuffnut breathed, inching closer.

"I think the body was moved, Hiccup," Fishlegs fidgeted. "You can see this trail of dry blood leading to the helmet."

"I see," Hiccup squatted down, scratching his chin thoughtfully like a detective. "Let's move in closer, guys." He stood up, brushing his knees, and set off towards the desolate helmet.

"I think I found something!" Astrid's voice carried through from not very far away. Their heads jerked up at the sound. "Coming!" Hiccup returned, switching his original path.

Snotlout decided he'd be the one to investigate the body first. "You go on, then. I'll find the Bjarte guy and then we'll talk." Hiccup gave his head a brief dip, and went back towards the blonde Viking with both her hands at her hips.

As Hiccup and Astrid were talking, Snotlout took control. "Fishlegs, Ruff and Tuff, we're going to find the body first, then report back. Got it? And make sure, if you see anything that resembles a clue, tell me immediately." He liked the feeling of authority. The twins were easily convinced, running over to the helmet and inspecting it. "Look at this, Ruff," Tuffnut exclaimed, bumping shoulders. "There's blood in the helmet."

"Um…blood, you say?" Fishlegs raised up a forefinger. "Then he'd probably got a concussion, or a hit in the head." A small patch of blood on a nearby boulder confirmed his guesses.

In the corner of his eye Snotlout saw Astrid and Hiccup run back. "There was a burnt patch of grass over there," Astrid said, when she had returned with her boyfriend.

"We think the dragon must be of Stoker Class," Hiccup continued, wheezing a little.

"-so I think that narrows down our options down," Astrid finished. "And I doubt it's a Terrible Terror, since they're so small. Plus they travel in groups anyways."

Snotlout thought for a moment. "So...what are our options?"

Hiccup paused. "The Typhoomerang is one. The Monstrous Nightmare, like your dragon Hookfang, waiting up front. There's also the Fireworms, which is," he took a breath, "not so likely. And of course, the Red Death, which isn't even an option, really."

Hiccup was interrupted by shouting."Guys, guys! We found him!" Tuffnut's face was beet-red, and pretty amusing to look at.

"Finally making some progress," Snotlout muttered under his breath, then proceeded to follow the male twin. A figure was outlined on the ground, grotesquely bent.

Snotlout covered his mouth. "Yep, it's him all right."

The man was in his mid-forties, with a small scraggly beard that ran down his pointy chin like a skinny creek running over rocks. He had a bulbous nose, and his eyes were thankfully closed; Snotlout wouldn't have wanted them to be open. There was a dashing of freckles on both sides of his pale cheeks. In one word: he didn't look so well.

"Euugh," Ruffnut said in disgust. "Look at the gashes on his stomach."

Hiccup motioned for Fishlegs to come closer. Unwillingly, Fishlegs took small steps into the circle the gang had made around the man.

"I wonder why the Berkians who found him first didn't move him some place else," Astrid mused, pinching her nose.

"Well," Hiccup said, playing with a stick without much thought, "I kind of question the morals of the Vikings back on Berk, you know? Remember the last time they thought someone was about to die? They were going to bring out their 'dead Vikings' for a funeral."

Snotlout huffed. He knew the "someone" they were talking about was no one but himself, and that happened the time he thought he was going to die. Of course, he had avoided the certain death because it was an elaborate prank set by the twins the whole time.

Astrid punched Hiccup in the arm. "Ow!" Hiccup cringed, protesting. "What was that for?"

"You know that was just a joke?" Astrid said, pursing her lips. "Anyways, I think we have a more important matter on our hands."

"Right, getting to it," Hiccup said, throwing away the stick. "Fishlegs, tell me. What kind of claw marks do you think those are?"

"Umm…judging by the size and the placement of each claw…definitely either Monstrous Nightmare or Typhoomerang. I'll have to say Nightmare, since I don't see any spiral patterns burnt onto the ground yet. But I can't be sure." After his analysis, he made his way out off the close-cropped circle, breathing unevenly.

An idea came to Snotlout just then. "Wait a moment. Hookfang's a Monstrous Nightmare, right? So maybe I can bring him over and then you can compare."

"That's actually…" Astrid faltered, "...a great idea."

"Excatly," Snotlout boasted. And he took off towards the front of the house, searching for his dragon on the grasses.

"Hookfang? I need you to come here!" he shouted, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. No sign of the unmistakable red and spotted orange hide anywhere. "Hey Hookfang, have you gone all weird again?" The Nightmare could be a little temperamental sometimes, and would go off into some quiet place to cool off, often burning up some ground as well.

"Hookfang?"

He was starting to get worried.

"Come on," he murmured, his foot tapping in his wait.

Snotlout let out a squeak of surprise at his sudden fall to the ground. The culprit was Hookfang, who had nipped his back garment and dragged it down for fun. Hookfang snorted hot steam in pleasure.

"There you are. I need you to come with me now." Snotlout got up, spit out a few blades of grass which had somehow wandered into his mouth, and walked briskly to where the gang were waiting. Hookfang treaded behind him, slightly confused.

"Now, Hookfang, show me your talons!" he commanded.

As Hookfang extended his claws, Fishlegs compared the claw marks from a safe distance. "Yep, those are definitely Monstrous Nightmare claw marks," he commented, as Hookfang retreated back to the front of the hut.

"Alright." Hiccup took his notebook back out again, taking out his charcoal pencil and jotting down a few quick notes, eyes squinting in determination. "There we go," he said, putting his writing utensils and the notebook back in place. "So, what do you think? Should we head back?"

"Please," Snotlout groaned. "It feels like we've been here for half a day!"

"Actually, it's only been about two hours; you can see by the position of the sun, but I get your point," Hiccup chuckled. "Let's go."

"Finally." Tuffnut and Ruffnut ran quickly, reaching their dragon first. All of their dragons were waiting there, Toothless being the most bored, his head flopped onto the ground."Hey there bud," Hiccup said once he got close enough, "sorry we took so long." Toothless cooed, then promptly jumped up enthusiastically, giving Hiccup a lick on the nose. "Toothless!" he complained, laughing.

Hookfang's greeting wasn't wet. With a snort of contempt, he had picked up Snotlout and was throwing him in the air, catching him and repeating the process. "Ugh," Snotlout moaned, almost retching. "Put me down! I think I'm going to be sick," he grumbled, as he was put down, stumbling head over heels like a Viking drunk on mead.

Snotlout seated himself comfortably, then placed a hand onto Hookfang's snout. As soon as the dragon registered the contact, he took a leap into the sky, speeding way over Snotlout's comfort zone. "Wait, slow down!" he screamed, although he rather liked the feel of being the fastest.

The grand Viking statues that marked the island of Berk loomed in front of them, their faces illuminated by an eerie glow that made them seem threatening. The sun was setting, its wise face peeking over the horizon, not wanting to leave. Today's moon was supposed to be half-full, and already you could see the pale round circle hanging in the darkening sky.

As Snotlout was heading off towards his home, he managed to catch a few sentences exchanged by Hiccup and Astrid. Of course, they were not useful to him, but they piqued his interest nonetheless.

"There may as well be a rampant, murderous dragon out there, Astrid. And you know the only person in your household is your uncle Finn, and you told me he's sick."

"Hiccup, don't you think I can take care of myself?" Astrid's voice was thunderous.

Hiccup's was as a gentle wave, as opposed to Astrid's thunder. "Astrid. Please." It sounded genuine too. Snotlout wondered if he should consult Hiccup about how to woo girls. He quickly abandoned the idea; Hiccup had been horrible at it when he was a teen. Of course, Snotlout had expected Astrid had always had feelings for that scrawny boy, except that she'd been afraid of ridicule, or the fact that Hiccup wasn't good at anything Viking-ly.

"Oh alright," Astrid sighed, defeated.

"Thank you," Hiccup sighed as well.

He heard their footsteps mingle into the night, and stopped his eavesdropping, returning to the place he called home, and put himself right into bed, shutting off all thoughts and disturbances. He could think about his situation with Ruffnut tomorrow. His eyes closed as he dozed off into a peaceful slumber.

Well, mostly peaceful.

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**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Race Paint

**A/N: I cannot guarantee that Dragon Races actually work this way, however when I get a better understanding I will definitely update this chapter. A thank you to you all.**

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**ASTRID**

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"Hey Astrid. You wanna come with us to relax before the game? Me and Ruffnut are going to play 'Hide Snotlout's Helmet' again."

Astrid huffed and crossed her arms, the small puff of air escaping her lips and making a tinny whistling noise. She wasn't interested. "No thanks."

She had a rough night yesterday, tossing and turning in the covers, staying away from the auburn as possible. Not that she was uncomfortable, it was because of her rambling thoughts swirling in her head and constantly nagging at her conscious when all her mind wanted to do was to fall asleep. She was annoyed. And everyone knew what she was like when she didn't get enough sleep.

"Alright then. I'll ask Hiccup." _Hiccup. _She gritted her teeth. Why was everything about him? Why couldn't she stop hearing his name everywhere? Not to mention his voice; she almost swore he was there behind her when she was feeding Stormfly a leg of chicken this morning for breakfast; "Don't feed her too much, she'll be overweight in a few weeks," the voice in her head had said. She'd be lucky if she hadn't thrown a fit by evening.

Tuffnut then took a long look at her, and she could feel the heat creeping up her face. She bit down on the insides of her cheeks, and the heat subsided. Tuffnut wasn't going to suspect anything; he was a knucklehead, if she had to say so herself. He wouldn't suspect that she had spent the night seething with unnecessary frustration at a certain boy, and had almost fallen off the bed. Astrid brushed her slightly tousled hair at the thought.

"Are you okay? You look tired," Tuffnut commented.

"Of course I'm tired," she quipped, her brain going on overdrive, thinking of a suitable white lie to tell him. It was unusual for Tuffnut to stick around and ask her of her well-being, anyways. "I just had umm...a nightmare. You know, after seeing that body and stuff…" She made a face of disgust, hoping that he would buy it.

He did. Which was also predictable. "Oh yeah, wasn't that amazing?"

"No kidding, right?" Astrid scoffed to herself, but kept on playing along. "So, uh, why don't you go and find Hiccup," she forced out, "and I'll catch up with you later."

The reason she woke up all cranky was entirely Hiccup's fault. He was in one of his overprotective phases again, and she hoped it wouldn't last any longer; she couldn't tolerate it anymore. She'd endured nearly a week of this nonsense already. So what was the big deal about a 'rampant, murderous dragon?' Frankly, she remembered it was herself that had protected him from almost getting killed five years ago by Stormfly during one of their lessons. She could deal with a Monstrous Nightmare, she bet.

" 's something else I need to tell you about, actually.." Tuffnut trailed off. What was wrong with him today? Couldn't he see that she was busy fuming here? He was being quite odd, actually.

She nodded stiffly.

"It's hard. It's Ruffnut, well not really Ruffnut, but, hey why don't you see for yourself?" Tuffnut clenched his fist around a lock of hair, and Astrid could see that something was disturbing him, no wonder he was acting off today. "I'm just feeling- what's the word?- frustrated, yeah, like not being able to wreck things up."

Astrid was silent for a moment. Tuff wanted her to help? The day was getting increasingly more bizarre by the second. "I'm frustrated, too," she confessed.

"With what? There's nothing to be frustrated about! You've got Dragon Racing!"

"Pfft," she pursed her lips. "I'd rather not talk about it. Come on, you've got that Ruffnut problem to discuss about, right?"

"Yep," Tuff said, before taking off towards the watchtower. Astrid sighed, running after him in pursuit.

The watchtower was in essence, not really a watchtower, but what Astrid liked to refer to as just a plain old wooden platform. The gang had meetings held there, often debating on little things like if Dragon Races need a new set of rules, how fire prevention should be improved, and other problems that happened to face them. Hiccup called it "Dragon Landing" just for the purpose of making the worn-out tower seem like an interesting attraction, but it remained what it was even with the glorified namesake: a simple platform rising out of land and sea.

It was there that Astrid approached four sixths of the gang, not including herself, of course. She couldn't hear clearly to what the muffled voices were saying, but she saw the problem as soon as she reached the top of the flight of stairs.

"So, babe, you wanna head on over to the Meade Hall, maybe get a mug or two?" Snotlout winked, flipping his hair with flair and elegance.

"Nah, Ruffnut would rather spend time with me. Wouldn't you?" Fishlegs smiled a small smile; then his mouth curled into a frown when Snotlout reached over and put his arm around Ruffnut's waist.

"Blech," Ruffnut stuck out her tongue at them and scooted over, avoiding the young men vying for her attention and escaping Snotlout's arm.

They yammered on. Tuffnut gave her a look. "See what I mean? I can't go anywhere without her. And now I can't go anywhere without these trollheads following her every step of the way."

Astrid stifled a laugh. "Trollheads?"

"Well me and Ruffnut are muttonheads. I had to come up with a better name for those two numbskulls. Or a worse one, I guess."

Astrid seated herself beside Ruffnut, flattening her skirt so that she was comfortable and making sure her hood would not receive any wood splinters by balancing it over the edge of the wooden bench's backing. Maybe she could talk some sense into her. "So, Ruff, I heard you have some, um, problems here," she whispered in her friend's ear.

Ruff's face crinkled in disgust, and she waved at Astrid to scoot over a little more. "You have no idea," she replied, her voice coming out more nasal than usual. She coughed. "These jerks have been surrounding me for gods know how long. I'm afraid they're going to start to barge into my house with their arms full of gifts."

"Gifts, huh. And what makes you think that?"

However Ruffnut did not want to get there in their conversation."Tell me. Has Hiccup ever given you any gifts?"

It was as if a shadow had cascaded down over Astrid's face, and she frowned, eyebrows furrowed. "I don't want to talk about him right now," she said eventually, in response to Ruffnut's wait.

Ruffnut shrugged. "Why not?"

"It's complicated. And yes, I think he has, once or twice before." She thought about it. "I think the hood," she craned her neck and lifted up the appendage, "was his idea. Said I might need it when winter comes around, so I could be warm. Also," she continued, as more memories came back to her, "he gave me a small pendant two Snoggletogs ago. It was in the shape of the Berkian crest, the symbol that also graces Hiccup's flight suit and Toothless' tailfin. He said," she pronounced each word slowly as she struggled to remember his exact words, "that he made it with the leftover metal from his updated prosthetic, as well as the new metal rod he'd installed on Toothless' fin. I don't know if it's true or not, but nevertheless I keep it in a special compartment back at home, to keep it safe." It occurred to her that even though Hiccup had his short ends and issues, he was still a pretty good boyfriend. Although they never called each other by the terms "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" yet. The most intimate word she had ever called him was 'babe', and that was only once, when they had gone to watch the sunset over the sea, at the cliff overlooking the docks.

"Cool," Ruffnut commented, pulling Astrid's musings back on the topic at hand. "But that doesn't interest me enough." She stole a glance at the laughing forms of Snotlout and Fishlegs, who had somehow gotten back to good terms. "I think they're pretending," she whispered from a corner of her mouth.

"Pretending what?"

"Pretending that I'm not here. Then when I get up, they're going to start chasing me again."

"So, stalling time, huh?" Then her words finally registered. "They chase you? On what? Their dragons?"

"No," Ruffnut shook her head, "not real chasing. They're just like those stupid Terrible Terrors that like to follow you and ask for food. I have no idea why Gothi likes them so much."

"At least they provide some use. They send Airmail."

"Are you done with your girl talk?" Tuffnut cut in, looking bored. "This is lame. Should we start the game now?"

Ruffnut snuck another surreptitious glance at the boys, then carefully stood up. The bench gave out a small creak, and Ruffnut froze. Relieved that the boys were still in the midst of their own separate conversation, she tiptoed silently towards Snotlout, extending her hand and quickly nabbing the helmet off his head in a rapid swipe. She chuckled manically, running away and down the stairs, with Tuffnut not far behind her.

Snotlout had just noticed this, and was patting his head with confusion. "Hey, wait up!" He shot up and chased after the cackling twins, who had disappeared miraculously into the village. Fishlegs emitted a "huh?" before also following Snotlout's lead, leaving her alone on the bench.

Astrid got up reluctantly, her hood bouncing up and down as she headed down. There was Dragon Races to worry about; she didn't want to participate in any games besides that. She rubbed her tired eyes and decided to seek out for her dragon back home. Then she changed her mind and reversed the order. When she got to her house, she would first wash her face and comb her hair to detangle it. Perhaps that would help with the sudden bout of drowsiness that had just washed over her.

She yawned when she reached her destination. All she wanted was to plop down on her comfy bed and sleep for a few hours more. But she couldn't, and that made her temper go up just a bit.

Astrid plucked out the tie in her braid, leaving it on a table beside her bed. She sat on the bed and took a comb, running the teeth into her unwrapped braid, dragging it down with some effort when she reached a knot. She plaited the strands of hair once more, tying it together for finish. Her boots skidded on the floor as she wearily walked towards the bathroom, heaving a small bucket before her and plunging her hands into the cold water. She splashed the water over her face, letting out a yelp as the icy coldness touched her skin. Hopefully this would keep her awake and ready to race. Astrid wiped her face off with a cloth, pushed the bucket back to its spot, accidentally sloshing some water onto the floor. She sighed, about to clean the glistening puddle up, then stopped. It'll dry over time; she was going to be late if she didn't leave at this moment. Besides, it wasn't that important anyways.

Stormfly's distinctive crown greeted her happily. "Hey girl, you ready for some racing?" Stormfly squawked indignantly and rubbed her head against Astrid's coat.

The pair set off to the stadium. The stadium was a newly built one, and was not the typical enclosed one, but rather split into pieces that formed a sort of semi-circle. In the races, all you had to do is to stay within the specific boundaries, other than that, there was nowhere you couldn't go. As they were walking, Astrid suddenly realized a possibility, and it made her feel anxious, and her hands to turn clammy.

"Astrid," Hiccup's voice rang in her ears. Only this time, she wasn't imagining it.

"Hello," she returned, politely but weakly. It was a scarce event to see him here, because usually he was busy with his exploration or something in the forge. But somehow he made it here today.

"So I'm guessing you're only going to apply paint today," she said. Astrid was by far already accustomed to this.

Hiccup smiled shyly. "Yep, you got me again, I'm really sorry."

"Don't be." They headed towards the catapult, where the black sheep was shot from, and Hiccup's choice of painting area today. Usually since Hiccup was not present, Gobber or another member of the village who wasn't watching in the stands would be the one with the job of applying race paint. But here he was. Just her cup of luck.

Hiccup started sorting the buckets of paint by colour. Astrid stood there as a bystander, watching. She spotted the bucket of red paint, which was Hiccup's colour of choice, and dipped her finger in it. "Okay," Hiccup muttered, biting his lip, "blue and orange!" He lifted up two different shades of blue. "Sky Blue or Cerulean?"

Something else that wasn't particularly important. "Sky."

He put both down again, one edging closer to his foot, and heaved two other buckets of orange. "Burnt Apricot or Sunset Orange?"

"Did Fishlegs name these, by any chance?"

"Mhmm. Now pick one, or else I'd have to pick one for you."

"Sunset, please."

"I'll paint Stormfly first, if you don't mind."

"'Course not." It probably was a better choice. Hiccup grabbed a yakhair brush and emerged it into the paint, scraping excess off the bucket edge. He dragged the brush along Stormfly's wing, a straight line. He then repeated this with the other wing, and then the other colour, orange.

"Your turn," he said when he was done. "Same hues?"

"Yep."

"Okay. Now hold still." The wetness of the paint lingered long after application; so did the feel of his fingers against her face. Gingerly, he dabbled on the paint, drawing a butterfly pattern with the two paints on her palette. "There you go," he said, leaning back to examine his handiwork.

"Thanks. C'mon, Stormfly. We have a race to win." She turned back at the last second, smearing the bright red paint off her finger and onto his cheek. "You know, red actually suits you pretty well," she remarked, before climbing onto her dragon and trotting off.

The cheers of the crowd drowned her; there were so many people there present today. Many were clapping enthusiastically, and some were hollering and whistling. When Astrid emerged from the sidelines, the crowd broke out into chants of her name, applauding rhythmically to a beat. She waved at her fans before taking her place beside Fishlegs at the starting line there up on the platform.

"Fellow Berkians." Stoick began his compulsory speech. The audience quieted down. "Friends, family. I am honored to welcome you all to the 27th Dragon Races!"

The crowd burst into a cacophony of clapping.

"Now to introduce the players today. For the newcomers," he added. "First, we have Snotlout and his Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang!" Snotlout took a step forward, waving and smoothing his hair.

"Up next, we have Fishlegs and his Gronckle, Meatlug!" Fishlegs exchanged a slight nod of the head, followed by another pat for his dragon's head.

"Please welcome Astrid and her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly!"

"This is our cue, Stormfly." The audience watched as the Nadder sent three precise spines flying over their heads, the sharp needles embedding in the grasses on the other side. The chant started again. "Astrid! Astrid!"

"And last but not least, twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and their dragons Barf and Belch!" The twins headbutted each other, slamming their helmets together and yelling a war cry. Astrid saw the disappointment on Stoick's face as he realized his son wasn't there.

"Riders, get in position," the chief said gruffly. The teens hopped on their dragons. "On your mark."

Her eyes narrowed. The white sheep was about to be launched shortly. Her focus was entirely on the sheep's flank.

"Get set."

A twirl to the left, plus a zigzag to avoid the deliberate right turn the twins always performed. Then a fourty-five degree angle flight, which, if Stormfly traveled fast enough, would make her parallel to Snotlout's normal trajectory, and just maybe she'd score the first point.

She ignored the reminder that Hiccup had been the one to teach her these things.

"And go!" The horn was blown, shattering her thoughts, and the sheep sprung from the push of a lever; it sailed before her with a surprised air. Astrid felt her stomach lurch as Stormfly took a flying leap off the platform, her wings catching the air and flapping. "Like we practiced, Stormfly," her voice shook with turbulence. She gritted her teeth together and leaned towards the left. Stormfly took the pose as a signal, and spun leftwards, arcing under the Zippleback barging into them and zipping back up.

"Hey!" Tuffnut shouted.

"That wasn't fair!" Ruffnut echoed.

Astrid smirked. In her mind, though, she was battling something, and she wasn't winning. She blinked and shook her head. It was simply not the time to fall asleep.

The Nadder halted, leaving her winded and out of breath, then sped up at a sharp angle upwards, passing Snotlout's agitated face and leaving him to gripe at his own misfortune. As they dove down Astrid's eyes were trained onto the blur of white below as the sheep fell. Hands prepared, she snatched the sheep out of its misery and dropped it in her labeled box and into the net.

"And Astrid nabs first point!" Stoick shouted from his spectator area. She smiled widely, then took Stormfly on a loop around the outside, clapping the hands of many eager fans before resuming the game as second sheep was catapulted over their heads.

A few rounds passed, and she felt disappointment ring anew in her mind as her point count fell low. For what she knew, this was all because of her nodding off coincidentally whenever she was about to catch the sheep. Astrid rubbed at her temples and yawned as Snotlout hooted and pumped his fist into the air, having been on a winning streak of three. The only thing that could save her now was if she could rake in enough points by the last round...

Or if she was lucky enough to score the black sheep, who was worth ten points.

Astrid spied a runaway sheep on the ground. These sheep were there for only the most observant of racers, and were worth extra points. Targets painted onto their wool made them easier to snatch. She felt another wave of sleepiness, and struggled to keep awake, not noticing how close they were to the stray sheep. Stormfly was thankfully paying attention though, unlike her, and took off for the stadium with a point in hand. "Thanks, girl," she yawned after the point had been deposited, before pressing her eyelids hard on each other in an effort to clear her mind of drowsiness.

They swerved around a post, spinning the metal dragon weathervane as her Nadder and the rest of the gang behind her simultaneously flew around and out of the stadium. Snotlout had since snagged another sheep and was carrying it underneath his arms.

"Here babe, you can have my sheep," he said while throwing it to Ruffnut. "By the way, I like your hairstyle today," he winked.

"It's the same every day," Tuffnut deadpanned. "C'mon, Barf, let's go," Ruffnut commanded, catching the sheep expertly and stuffing the poor thing into Tuffnut's arm. "There's nothing to see here anyways."

If Astrid was betting it, she could've sworn that Snotlout was crestfallen. That was new. Over the years of her constant refusing him, he'd never paid any mind to what she yelled at him. But now he was actually sad at Ruffnut's refusal.

Perhaps he had matured.

"The twins break Snotlout's once impermeable record with a gain of one point!"

The twins whooped. Astrid took the chance to interfere. "Snotlout, what are you doing?"

"I'm helping my princess. That's all." He stared after her braids whipping in the wind. "But it appears," he forced out through gnashed teeth, "I've got competition."

"Good job," Fishlegs called out to Meatlug, then headed towards Ruffnut. "Here you go.." From her point of view she could still see Ruff's face, and it wasn't amused.

Another round passed as the twins dunked another point in. Astrid took Stormfly on a different path, caressing the boundaries of the race, wingtips still within the vicinity. Her dragon's shadow passed over houses as they went. By staying out of the main focus of the other teams, maybe she could make a steal.

And she was right again when she performed an excellent maneuver under Meatlug and grabbed the sheep she was carrying, depositing it and thus scoring a point. Finally.

"Last lap," Gobber shouted over the din. The horn blasted as he descended down the stairs and placed his hand on the lever. "Have a nice flight!" he grinned like a child, giving the black sheep a wink and pushing the lever down. The sheep gave a bleat of surprise and fright as it was projected upwards into the clouds.

"Stormfly, get ready! We can still win this! Up, up!" At a jawdropping seventy degrees they went, claws extended fully for one purpose only: to grab the ten pointer before anyone else reached it. Simply her sleight of logic.

Her plans failed when a shadow blocked her way. Meatlug had snatched the sheep before she could even register the familiar bumped hide. "Shoot," she sighed, eyes slitting at the sight of her prize being stolen. Revenge, huh.

"Yeah, you go girl!" Fishlegs twisted and ordered Meatlug to drop the black sheep into Ruffnut's arms. "This is for you, darling," he said, giving a charming smile.

"Aw yes!" Ruffnut pumped her fist. "Ten points! Let's go, Tuff!"

"Haha! Suit yourself, loser!" Tuffnut yelled at Snotlout. "We're going to win this thing, and no man can stop us now!"

His brutal comment directed towards 'Lout sparked her hope. No man, maybe, but maybe a woman could. She let herself have the luxury of a sly smile before sending Stormfly to the chase after the two-headed dragon.

"Stormfly, stay steady. Let's see if we can do this thing." This little trick was self-taught, and was still fairly new to the pair, but she knew that they could manage to pull it off. She lifted up one leg, then two, squatting on the back of the Nadder. Slowly she stood up, shakily but surely, and carefully placed one foot in front of the other. Astrid then took a leap of faith, landing on the Zippleback like a professional. Meanwhile the twins were fighting over the black sheep. This was her only chance, and would determine the outcome of the entire race.

"Now," she thought, and pushed the sheep out of the twin's grip, catching it just in time. Her momentum led her straight back onto her dragon. Relieved, she took a glance at the twins' faces. "Haha!" she exclaimed. _Take that._

Her smile disappeared as a large object hurtled towards her. Stormfly took a quick duck and just missed the hammer that Snotlout was carrying. There was a shout from behind, unmistakenly Fishlegs, and a response from the audience. Thankfully she had not got hurt, but there were consequences, as always, as she felt herself gyrating out of control.

"Whoa, steady yourself!" she cried as she fell. The net wasn't far away from their current position. "Lean to the left!" she commandeered. "Right! There now!" And the Deadly Nadder curved in a circular motion, a loop-de-loop and upside down and-

"And Astrid takes the game!" Stoick bellowed from the sidelines. Her heart was beating nonstop, but she was glad the game was over. Astrid took a trip once more around the stadium, awaiting the fans eagerly as they all stood up and gave her a standing ovation.

"Way to go!"someone yelled.

"You're amazing!"

"Well done!"

"Thank you all!" she shouted, as she finished her course around the benches. As much as she loved the attention, she knew what she wanted right now. She just wanted to escape all this noise and madness. Astrid was dead tired, and the want, the need, was worming its way into her priorities.

And she knew exactly where she could accomplish her task.

At home.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


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